Why use the internet to help you research family origins? Genealogy is the th ird most popular reason for using the internet, after (you've guessed it) the pu rsuit of sex and money.

There are literally thousands of sites dedicated to family history. Some of t hese (like the Familysearch site, www.familysearch.org) are essentially database s of information, which you can search either for free or on payment of a subscr iption. Others contain indexes and catalogues which will help you to locate info rmation contained in libraries and record offices around the world. In fact, the internet is one of the best ways to begin your research of offline facilities a nd resources. Some sites exist to put genealogists in touch with one another, pe rhaps those researching the same family (a word of warning - if you don't want t o make contact with your second-cousin-twice-removed, perhaps the web isn't for you). There are also plenty of sites providing information on the topic of genea logy itself, which show you how to start and organise your research.

Then there are the millions of pages on just about every topic under the sun that he lp enrich your general knowledge and your understanding of the sort of lives you r ancestors lived. It is possible, for example, to find detailed definitions of the arcane job descriptions found on nineteenth-century birth or marriage certif icates (visit www.gendocs.demon.co. uk/trades.html). Or to discover the truth be hind the seemingly mysterious cause of death given by a doctor on a death certif icate over 100 years ago try Dr Paul Smith's excellent site www.gpiagasthma.org/ drpsmith/amt1.htm. You may be able to find a page on the regiment in which one o f your ancestors served; some of these even include pictures of the uniforms the y would have worn. Or photographs of the villages your family originated from an d the churches in which they worshipped. I have managed to do all these things i n the past year just by rooting around, and I am sure that many of you will, too .

The internet's capabilities for finding information really are limitles s. But it has to be used intelligently - in fact, as with any other research res ource, the results you yield are only ever going to be as good as the methods yo u apply.

What is the web?

Approaching the web for the first time c an be daunting, and trying to find your way around this vast network of connecti ons, interconnections and links made up of threads of information can all too ea sily lead to frustration and a sense of failure. Think of the web as an enormous library with no physical limitations, and where the Dewey classification system has been replaced by something straight out of Through the Looking Glass. When Humpty Dumpty used a word, he told Alice, "It means just what I choose it to mea n - neither more nor less." On some days it's easy to believe this is one of the guiding principles of the web, as the reasonably sensible queries you make resu lt in long lists of increasingly strange responses.

On good days, though, you enter into a network of magical books which, instead of bibliographies or f ootnotes showing you where to look for more information, provide buttons which i n one click take you directly to more and more diverse sources of information. < /P>

Before you start: a word of warning

The internet is a wonderful res ource, but there is one important minus - which, ironically enough, comes out of its main plus. There are absolutely no checks on the quality of information you may find on the web. Anyone, anywhere (even you - and I will explain how later on) can put pretty much anything he or she wants on the internet. This is both a good thing and a bad thing: for whereas it enables you to share the researches of others (that second-cousin-twice-removed again), you have no way of knowing w hether the information others are sharing with you is accurate.

The first golden rule of genealogical research (actually of all research) is always check your sources against the original. The internet has very little in the way of p rimary source material, and much of what you find there will have been placed by amateur sleuths who are not trained historians but well-informed people with a passion for their subject - and they sometimes make mistakes.

I will talk a little later about research methods in general, but for now, always assume th at you will have to verify anything you find or are told when surfing the net. < /P>

Choosing a computer

It isn't necessary to own the most deluxe compu ter model around for genealogy, but it is worth buying the most powerful machine you can afford. Most new computers on the market will be more than adequate for all your genealogical needs.

For software, Windows 95 and 98 are both su fficient for family history research. Windows 2000 is more business-oriented, an d includes heaps of stuff you probably do not need. If you are a Mac user, you w ill find the Claris Works package, which comes with most new Macs, will meet mos t requirements.

If you are planning to use specialist genealogical softwa re, make sure you check the minimum hard disk requirements recommended by the ma nufacturer. Some of these packages require fairly powerful machines and you coul d start to run out of juice.

If you are planning to run a scanner to inse rt pictures and photographs into your work, you will also need a fair amount of disk space. Even the smaller file formats for graphics, such as JPEGs, take up c omparatively large amounts of space - you can easily fit a medium-sized book of text on to one floppy disk, but probably not much more than two 8x4ins colour ph otographs. Buy a bigger hard disk than you think you will need, at least 5Gb.

Incidentally, do seriously consider obtaining a scanner and some photograph y software so you can beef up your family history with old family photographs, p ostcards, correspondence and so on. You can also clean up and enlarge old photos really easily. I have spent many an idle hour zooming in on photographs of my g reat-great grandmother Pettley to see if she really is as ugly as she appears to be (I'm afraid that she is).

A printer is absolutely essential. I recomm end a laser printer: they are much more expensive than inkjets (especially the c olour ones), but they are much better quality for archival purposes. Whatever pr inter you have, you will soon see how essential it is for providing hard copies of your findings and printing forms to assist you in your research.

It is important to keep your web browser software updated as this helps prevent virus es from entering your system via internet files. Use the most recent version you r PC will support. Also think about installing a virus shield - downloading inte rnet files and swapping information with other genealogists via e-mail attachmen ts are two sure-fire ways to contract viruses. For free advice I would recommend the McAfee site www.mcafee.com.